(a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an equipment trolley, particularly for transporting and/or holding medical instruments, equipment and the like, comprising a supporting framework resting on casters which, by using standardized components such as carrier trays, drawer blocks for one or more drawers, and the like, can be customized to suit its intended purpose.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
There are known equipment trolleys of this kind of a wide variety of designs in which the external configuration of the trolley and the layout, construction and finish of the storage surfaces, drawers and so on are adapted to the particular intended purpose. At the same time, to prevent the unintentional transmission of germs, the surfaces of equipment trolleys of this kind which are employed in clinical practice are provided with an electroplated or painted covering or even with a plastics coating. The mechnical strength which has to be ensured in everyday use is generally obtained by welding together the individual parts, and in particular the load-bearing parts such as uprights, struts and the like, so that the main body forms an indissoluble structural unit. It is only accessories or separable items such as slides or doors which are screwed on.
Hence, the disadvantage from which prior art trolleys suffer lies in the fact that they are usually developed and manufactured in direct conformity with their particular intended purpose, which means that it is only to a very limited degree that individual components can be used for other versions, thus producing a large number of mutually dissimilar components, which, in the final analysis, makes development and manufacture a very expensive business.
Another disadvantage of prior art trolleys lies in the sometimes unsatisfactory nature of their surfaces, which means that corrosive damage caused by harsh cleansers and/or disinfectants, humidity and spilled liquids causes incessant worsening of hygienic standards, resulting in the unintentional transmission of germs and the risks to the patient which this engenders.
Thus, the main object of the present invention is to provide an equipment trolley which is not only easy to customize to suit the particular purpose for which it is intended but which also has surfaces whose nature and configuration is such that any risk of the transmission of germs is counteracted to the greatest possible degree.